Corn-planter.



4 PIATENTBD MAR. 131, 1903. J. w. WHITEV 001m PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H0 MODEL.

20/2 19 ewe? No. 723,960. I PATE NTED MAR- 31, 1903.

. J. W. WHITE.

7 CORN PLANTERQ APPLIQATION FILED JULY 12, 190g.

no MODEL. H '2 SHEETS-SHEET- z.

: THE mama-s Puss: ca. moroumo. wAsnmmcm a. c.

UNITED STAT SIPAT NT OFFICE.

JOSEPH W. WHITE, OF BRIGHTON, IOWA.

CORN-PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 723,960, dated March 31,1903.

Application filed m 12, 19oz.

To all, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,Jos PH W.Wn1TE,a citizen of the United States,residing at Brighton,

in the county of Washington and State of Iowa, have invented certainnewanduseful Improvements in Corn-Planters {and I do here by declare thefollowing to be a full, clear,.

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to corn-plante rs which employ no check-row wire,yet plant the seedin rows transverse to the line of the plantersadvance; and the general object is to provide a simple machine which maybe readily made to accurately perform this work. To this end I providedropping devices normally actuated automatically from theplanter-wheels, hillmarking devices normally actuated synchronously withthe dropping devices, means whereby both sets of devices may be throwninto and out of operation at will, means whereby the marker may beindependently locked out of operative position, means whereby both setsof devices may be delayed in operation at any time while the advance ofthe machine continues, and means whereby backing the planter hasnoeffect upon either set of devices.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a planview of a plantervinvolving my im-. provements, the dropping devices and parts notessential to an understanding, of this invention being omitted. Fig., 2is a side elevation of the machine, parts being broken away. Fig. 3shows a portion of the mechanism looking from the rear'of the machine'to the supplemental frame, and the latter also carries the ordinaryrocking shaft F, which actuates the dropping devices. (Not shown.) Uponthe axle is mounted a loose sleeve G, from which projects an arm G, andthe end of this arm is connected by a link G to the outer Serial No.115,286. (No model.)

end of an arm G fixed to the rock-shaft F. On the side of the arm G ispivoted an upwardly-extending bar G which bears at its free end a rollerG5 and has its middle portion connected to theframe A by a link G Uponthe axle adjacent to'the sleeve G is splined a sliding sleeve H, andupon this is revolubly mounted adisk'H, bearing on one side an annularratchet H which is engaged by a pawl H supported from the sleeve H andnormally ;held in engagement by a spring H The form of the ratchet andpawl is such that when the axlerotaies forwardly, as when the planteradvances, the pawl compels the disk to rotate with it; but when contraryrotation occurs the-pawl slips over the ratchet-teeth. These devices, aswill be seen, constitute a peculiarautomatically-engagingclutch. Thedisk bears diametrically opposite lateral lugs H so located that as thedisk rotates they strike in succession against the roller G and compelit to move onward with them. The arm G is thus swung about the axle, andin so swinging it pulls the arm G rearwardly, rocking the dropper-shaftF. The roller G5 is normally at the same distance as the lug from theaxle; but as it is pushed onward by "the lug it is also drawn forward bythe link G whose end swings in the arc of a circle about its pivotalsupport upon the frame A, and thus it passes out of the lugs path whenthe shaft F has been rocked through a small angle, and the shaft F,armG, and roller are instantly returned to normal position by a spring I,acting upon the shaft. shown, there are two diametrically opposite lugsupon the disk, the shaft F will obviously be thus rocked at eachhalf-revolution of the planter-wheel; but I do not limit myself to twolugs, the number evidently depending upon the number of actions desiredduring one rotation of the wheel.

J, pivoted at J and having a laterally-pro- Near each end of the frameDis placed an When, as k jecting lug or roller J A curved arm J ispivoted at J to swing upward, engage the roller, and lift the marker.The shaft F is provided with a rigid arm J also provided with a laterallug or roller J in position to lift the arm J whenever the shaft isrocked rearwardly, as above described, and thus the marker is raisedfrom the ground at the moment when seed is dropped, so that alongsidethe planted hill there is a break in the otherwise continuous mark. Ihave found that this indication is more certain and unmistakableon allkinds of ground than an ordinary imprint made or supposed to be madealongside the hill. There is also provided a hand-lever .1", having alateral lug or roller J to engage and lift the arm J and the marker, andalso a gravity-actuated pivoted hook J to engage the frame Dautomatically when the hand-lever raises the arm, and thus lock themarker in raised position. The hook is released by pressure upon itsupper arm J which lies alongside the handle of the hand-lever. When thehand-lever is not in use, it is swung toward the front of the machine,where it is securely held by its own weight.

Then the dropping devices are to be disconnected from the axle, thesleeve H is moved along the axle until the lugs H are Without thevertical plane of the roller G This is done by means of an ordinaryquadrant-lever K, pivoted to the frame A and having the usuallocking-pawl K. The lower end of this lever is connected by a link Kwith a collar K in which the sleeve rotates without sliding. From thecollar projects a rigid arm L, in which is centrally pivoted a forkedlever L, resting, saddle-like, upon the sleeve and normally held againstmovement upon its pivot by a spring L A bent foot-lever L is pivoted tothe outer end of the arm L in such manner that when one lever-arm ispressed by the foot the other acts upon the upper end of the forkedlever, overcoming the pressure of the spring L and forcing the lower endof the forked lever toward the disk H. Between this lower end and theinner arm or end of the pawl 11 is a loose collar L which the leverpushes along the sleeve H against the pawl, thereby releasing the latterand leaving the disk free upon the sleeve.

Itis welhunderstood that inequalities of the ground prevent the planterfrom invariably advancing for each revolution of the wheel through adistance fully equal to the wheels circumference, and hence that it willbe found from time to time that dropping should be delayed until theadvance of the planter has made up such loss. This might be accomplishedby the hand-lever throwing the disk bodily to one side of the rollerupon which its lugs act; but as accurate alinement requires frequent andslight delays (merely retarding the dropping for an instant) this is notsatisfactory. The proper alinement cannot thus be made without stoppingthe machine. With the ratchet-disk and spring-pawl devices,however, anydesired correction may be made, for when one of the lugs meets theroller a slight pressure of the foot will cause the pawl to release thedisk while one tooth or a hundred teeth pass, and the instant pressureceases the lug again begins to advance. Thus without special skill andwithout interfering with the advance of the planter at any time perfectalinement may be secured.

It is obvious that the construction set forth need not be exactlyfollowed, and I do not, therefore, wish to limit myself to suchconstrnction.

What I claim is-- 1. In a corn-planter, the combination with the frame,its wheels and a member adapted to actuate dropping devices by itsmovement, of a marker normally resting upon the ground, and meanswhereby said marker is lifted from the ground simultaneously with theactuation of the dropping devices.

2. The combination with a planter-frame, its supporting-wheels, anddropping devices normally actuated from said wheels at predeterminedintervals, of means operable during any such interval to increase thatinterval, and independent means for at will disconnecting said devicesfrom the wheels.

3. The combination with a frame, supporting-wheels, a rotating axle, anddropper-actuating devices, of a member normally rotating with the axlein position to actuate said devices, means for at will sliding saidmember along the axle out of its operating plane, and independent meansfor at Willdisengag* ing it from the axle.

4. The combination with a frame, supporting-wheels, a rotating axle, anddropper-actuating devices, of a member normally rotat+ ing with the axlein position to actuate said devices, means for at will throwing saidmemher out of action, independent means for at will disengaging it fromthe axle, and a spring arranged to instantly restore such engagementwhen the disengaging force ceases.

5. The combination with a corn-planter of a marker arranged to trail inclose proximity to the dropping devices, means whereby said marker istemporarily raised when the seed is dropped, and means whereby themarker may at will be raised and locked in raised position.

6. The combination with a frame, supporting-wheels, a rotating axle, anddropper-actuating devices, a member normally rotating with the axle inposition to operate said de vices, means for at will retarding theoperating effect of said member, and means for at will throwing saidmember out of operative position.

7. The combination with a frame, supporting-wheels, a rotating axle, anda dropper, of a lug-bearing member revolubly mounted upon the axle andprovided with an annular ratchet concentric therewith, a pawl movingwith the axle and adapted to engage said ratchet during forward movementand to slip upon the same during reverse movement, a spring tending tohold the pawl in engagement, means whereby the operator may hold thepawl out of engagement, and dropper-actuating devices in the normal pathof the lugs.

8. The combination with the planter-fra me, wheels, and axle driven byone of the wheels, of the supplemental dropper-frame hinged to the mainframe, the dropper-actuating rockshaft having the rigid arm, the armpivoted upon the axle and carrying the roller-bearing, pivoted bar, thelink connecting said arms, the link connecting said bar to the frame,and a member rotating with the axle and adapted to strike the rollerupon said bar at intervals and thereby swing the arm pivoted upon'theaxle.

9. The combination with the planter-frame,.

Wheels, and axle driven by one of the wheels, of the lug-bearing diskrevoluble about the axle and having the annular ratchet upon one face,the pawl moving with the axle and normally engaging said ratchetand'compelling the disk to rotate with the axle, means for at willdisengaging the pawl leaving the disk free, and dropper-actuatingdevices in the normal path of the lugs upon the disk.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH W. WHITE. Witnesses:

A. HOLOPETER, J. W. GRIFFITH.

